I continued to the opening, to the chasm that rose hundreds of feet up and descended an equal amount. The walls were riddled with caves, each housing the shimmering scaly body of a nagrata—different colors and sizes but all wrapped in their own tails. Fast asleep.
And in the heart of it, lying on orange smoldering rocks, was the largest one of all. Crimson scales edged in gold, thick tail wrapped around a body that rose and fell with each misted breath that spilled from its nostrils.
This had to be the leader of this group…whatever a group of nagrata were called. A set of roughly hewn steps were the only way down into the core of the chasm. I hurried back to the others and reported what I’d seen.
“The large one is the one you must awaken,” Kalani said. “Its size marks it as their leader.”
Yay me for being right.
“You must approach alone,” Kalani continued. “You are Iblees’s twin flame. You are Vayelle reborn. They will sense that. They will know.”
Zarael’s father Sorell had said the same.
“I’m coming with you,” C’ael said. “They can’t hurt me. I can transport away if need be.”
Like Chandra did. Transference. It had to be, but wasn’t that a godly trait?
Once again, Kalani caught my eye. She nodded. “Go, both of you. We’ll shout a warning if anything threatening occurs.”
“And how the heck do I wake the big one?” Everyone exchanged glances. I shook my head. “Never mind. I’ll wing it.” I paused and grinned. “Pun not intended.”
I went first down the stone steps. The fact they existed told me that people were expected to visit here, otherwise why build steps?
“How will you wake her?” C’ael asked.
“How do you know it’s a female?”
“I don’t. Not for certain, but it feels right for the nagrata to have a queen. A mother.”
“Yeah, it does. I think you might be right.”
The air shimmered with heat, making me long for the chill. I slipped my scarf off and tucked it into the holster around my waist. My gloves went into my pocket. It got harder to breathe the lower we got.
“I can’t go any farther.”
“It’s all right,” C’ael said. “I think you can wake her from here.”
I looked up at him. “Okay, here goes nothing.” I bracketed my mouth with my hands and yelled, “Hello! Nagrata leader! I need to speak with you!”
My words echoed louder and louder as they circled the chasm, and then a low rolling sound like the beginning of thunder chased the bleeding echo of my words. I pressed back against the rock face, heart hammering as the crimson nagrata opened one massive violet eye and fixed it on me.
Its vertical pupil dilated, and for a moment I was up close and personal with my reflection—a frightened woman pressed up against rock.
Yeah, this wouldn’t do.
If I had any hope of recruiting this magnificent creature, I needed to show myself to be worthy. I stepped forward, pulse throbbing in my throat, meeting her gaze levelly.
Her pupil contracted suddenly, and the chasm rumbled, heat rising in a wave as she lifted her majestic head. “Raknara,” she said, her voice like the edge of a storm. “It has been too long since I felt the aura of true spirit. Pray tell me, what is your name?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Leela. And yours?”
“I have been called many names, but you may call me Ganjani. Tell me, Leela who carries the spirit of Raknara, why have you awakened me before my time?” Her nostrils flared, expelling mist. “I feel that the world may have shifted while I slept.”
“It has. The primordial evil is free, and he has Iblees in his grip. He has taken the throne, and I need your help to stop him. If I can?—”
“Wait, child. You say that he has Iblees in his control? What do you mean?”
I quickly explained about Araz and Iblees and how the primordial evil had hitchhiked and had Araz in lockdown. That even with his full power, Araz was trapped.
